Not Quite There

[Joe Flanagan]

But almost. As some of you know, I had to drain the coolant and pull my head bolts and put teflon tape on the threads. I had a couple of more electrical connections to make under the dash, which I finished. I went down and got some gasoline (I could only get 3 gallons because I only had a 1 gallon can and borrowed my neighbor's 2 gallon can). Struggled putting on the rubber connection between the tank and the filler neck. Had to loosen the bolts holding the straps so the tank could drop a little. The filler connection was hard up against the underside of the car and I couldn't get the hose on to the fitting. The filler neck itself was pretty dirty inside, so I started cleaning that up. Right now I have it sitting in some solvent. I also took a vacuum and stuck the attachment down into the gas tank through the hole where the float goes. Just want to see if I can get out any stray debris, etc. So tomorrow, I'll fill it with coolant, put in some gas, prime the oil pump, and see what she does. Will three gallons be enough to start this thing or should I get more gas?

[Joe Flanagan]

Shel, since I posted that I read that the tank holds 17 gallons, so I think I'll dump what I have in the tank and then go get more.

[Young Ed]

Joe since your car isnt ready to hit the road yet I suggest you run directly from the 2gal can and leave your tank empty. Gas gets old sitting around.

[P-12 Tommy]

you don't want to suck up any junk from the tank.

Tom

[Joe Flanagan]

Also, my plan is to run it every day for a while and break it in. So I think I'll need more gas than what I've got now.

[DutchEdwin]

Joe,

It also depends on how good your fuel pump is.

Mine was bad, I had to put 30 liters (8 gallon) in to get the pump drinking.

After that I had to stop because I discovered the engine was bad. Did the overhaul and changed the fuelpump. I'm almost there to start the engine, Doing my homework on how to proceed in setting timing, carb settings , points adjustment etc. But all parts are assembled, exept for the distibutor which I was setting the point gap.

The gas has been sitting for 6 years in the tank. I looked last week but the gas is still very clear, no gunk in the tank. I'll let you know if it will give problems. I run an extra paper filter in the fuel line, so I can see if it gives me trouble. Throwing the gas away is the easiest job. Can be done at any time. So I'll just try.

PS. remember, this is European gas could be it preserves better

[JerseyHarold]

Joe,

Did you have the tank cleaned out at some point? If not, I would suggest doing that before putting gas into it.

When I tried to start my '52 after it had sat for many years, I poured gas into the tank, which made mud out of the crap in the bottom of it , which then got sucked through the gas line by the nice new fuel pump and jammed the tube. Then, the real fun began. The bottom of the tank was rusted internally and the gas started leaking onto my garage floor. When I pulled the tank off the car, I got 3 coffee cans full of crud out of it, and when I held it up you could see the sky through all the holes.

[55 Fargo]

By-pass the tank, and rig a portable gas can thats clean to start your engine, then deal with the tank. I actually drove my car for a short time with a portable 5 gallon gas can for a tank, before intalling a brand new gas tank.

Come on Joe, we want to read about you firing this baby -up, and that she is running great...............Fred PS hope all is coming together for you

[Joe Flanagan]

Dutch, I rebuilt my fuel pump with a kit from Antique Auto Parts Cellar, so it should be good. I don't think I would use 6-year-old gas, though. Sounds like you have a lot of good projects ahead of you.

Harold, I had the tank dipped at a place called Chem Strip. I think it might be a national chain. It came out very clean, inside and out. I put a vacuum attachment down into the tank through the hole where the float goes and cleaned it out just to be sure. I started filling it with gas today and got a leak almost immediately. It was the drain plug at the bottom center of the tank. The washer was completely gone and was letting gasoline get by the plug. That was toward the end of the day so that's as far as I've gotten.

[dirty dan]

Hate to be a party pooper here, but is running a vacuum cleaner hose into a gasoline tank really the best thing to do? In my mind, I'm seeing gasoline fumes being forced past an electric motor.

If the tank is clean enough, I would go ahead and place the fuel into it. If you find it's going to be sitting up too long, you can always add a little stabilizer to your tank.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Dan..think he stated the tank had just returned from a strip and dip facility..gas would be of no concern at the time he used the vacuum cleaner..

[Joe Flanagan]

Right. Tank was dipped and stripped. I'd washed it out thoroughly before that. In terms of getting the gasoline up to the pump, any tips so that I'm not cranking more than necessary?

[55 Fargo]

Right. Tank was dipped and stripped. I'd washed it out thoroughly before that. In terms of getting the gasoline up to the pump, any tips so that I'm not cranking more than necessary?

Yah, prime your carb, once she fires up the pump will do it's job........Fred

[thrashingcows]

If the tank has no holes then I would just run it with a secondary fuel filter. I usually run one of those plastic clear ones before the fuel pump, and then a second fuel filter after the pump.

With the clear filter you can monitor the crud being brought up into the filter and change it regularly, if needed.

As for gas sitting for 6 years....it will be a bit weak, but a octane boost, or a gallon of methyl hydrate should bring the fuel up to an acceptable level.

I've fired vehicles on 10+ year old gas and have not had any problems, though most don't recommend it.

[Joe Flanagan]

Actually I got the advice on the second filter here on this forum and have one installed under the car before the pump.